title: Phage lysis: do we have the hole story yet?
abstract: In infections of Gram-negative bacteria, lysis is a three step process, with a choice of two effectors for each step. At a precise, allele-specific time, the inner membrane (IM) is fatally permeabilized by either a holin or a pinholin. This allows a muralytic enzyme, either a canonical endolysin, escaping from the cytoplasm, or a SAR endolysin, activated in the periplasm, to degrade the peptidoglycan. Surprisingly, a third class of lysis protein, the spanin, is required for disruption of the outer membrane (OM). Key steps are regulated by membrane protein dynamics, both in terms of bilayer topology and subcellular distribution, by the energization of the membrane, and by holin-specific inhibitors called antiholins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for Phage Technology, 2128 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2128, United States. Electronic address: ryland@tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Ry
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000821:virology*; D001433:Bacteriolysis; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D057074:Virus Release
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins